A Story That Involves A Bulldog

at 03/16/10 5:55AM
True story told to me by a fellow I worked with years ago.

J.V. had a friend that owned a bulldog. They all went somewhere together and J.V.'s friend wanted to show him a trick that his bulldog could do.
It was in Houston, in the middle of summer. Hot and humid! The friend bought an ice cream cone at McDonalds. Thae kind that has the flat bottom. He commanded the dog to sit, and then set the icecream cone on the sidewalk right in front of it. "Stay!" he said.
So for several minutes they stood there in the heat watching the dog who was watching the icecream.
The cone melted and melted, and the dog worked up a slather of slobber which dribbled and dripped until the owner said "get it!".
The mutt ate the cone in two seconds, and icecream and slobber slung about the place in grotesque comedy.
I wish I could have seen it.
  • AlanL
    We should train our children that well.
    by AlanL at 03/16/10 10:37AM
  • plato
    My dog does the same thing. It's mean to torture him like that, but sometimes I do.
    by plato at 03/16/10 11:19AM

Just Because

at 03/15/10 7:31AM
it has been a week since my last post.
Not much to report. It has been pleasantly warm for the last afternoon or two. It'll be stormy today and cool for the next week, though.
I do have surgery scheduled on my left shoulder in a couple of weeks. I tore the cuff eight or nine years ago. It always hurts some, but that has been tolerable. But I am losing some range of motion AND my insurance is going to be changing (company bought out) for the "not quite as good". That has prompted things into action.
It sounds like the recouperation is going to involve using Vicadin pretty steady for a couple of weeks. I hate that stuff! It makes me want to throw up whenever I use it (as experienced post neck surgeries). The doc said that he would give me some anti-nausia medicine to go along with it.
I am feeling some trepidation, I guess.
  • AlanL
    Hope it goes well. They seem to be really good at those sorts of repairs these days.
    by AlanL at 03/15/10 10:52AM

Yup. I Was Right.

at 03/09/10 7:58PM
Spring is starting to show itsself!
I saw a butterfly, or large moth flutter by.
The fish in the pond are hitting the surface (but NOT hitting anything I tempted them with!).
Flowers on the almond tree.
76 degrees in the shade.
Red wasps in droves!! (not a good thing).

Today I limed the pasture. That is a job that is supposed to be done every three years or so arounf here, so we were overdue. It wasn't the worst job I've ever done, but I still didn't care for handling tthe messy stuff. Lots of white spots everywhere, but it is supposed to rain tomorrow, so it will disappear into the ground then.

While doing some spring cleaning in the yard, I found a big, fat black widow spider. 'S dead now. After dispatching it, I felt like spiders were touching me whenever I handled anything, or even moved around. So I came in the house. It was about to get dark anyway.
  • AlanL
    Hurray Spring!
    by AlanL at 03/09/10 9:06PM
  • sharon
    I saw a wasp.
    by sharon at 03/09/10 9:39PM
  • carolattheriver
    Ants are coming out like crazy, too. While pumping gas tonight the birds were so loud it almost hurt my hears! It was a welcomed sound to say the least! So ready for some warmer weather!!!
    by carolattheriver at 03/09/10 10:17PM
  • rainout
    i hate spiders!
    by rainout at 03/11/10 2:52PM

Musings

at 03/07/10 9:10AM
I felt remarkably good a couple of days ago. With the passing of time from my surgery, learning how to eat like a Celiac should, and the coming (finally!) of Spring, it looks like the universe is lining up in a manner compelling to my physique and emotional state. Been leanin' on the spirit for a while now!
I followed my M.O. and planting some stuff in the garden too early. 'S dead.
Sigh. There goes $7 of tomato plants.
The raspberries I planted look like they may make it, though.
Spring officially starts in my mind on March 19. That is the day Sharon was born and my twenty-something year old mind permanently noted the trees budding on that day. Always and Forever.
  • AlanL
    She must have been born in a year with a late spring! This is another of those years. Not sure what "usual" is for up there in Central Texas.
    by AlanL at 03/07/10 9:14AM
  • the_gaffer
    I saw some buds on the raspberries yesterday evening, but am not sure myself. Haven't been here long enough to see.
    by the_gaffer at 03/07/10 9:26AM
  • the_gaffer
    The trees are still very Wintery.
    by the_gaffer at 03/07/10 9:27AM
  • gmajo
    March 10 Is my imagined "first day of spring". As we brought baby Jane home from the place where the stork left her, the streets were lined with beautiful, awesome, wonderful pink flowered plum trees.

    Glad you are feeling better. What you have been through is just a reminder that old age is NOT for sissies.
    by gmajo at 03/07/10 12:03PM
  • jen
    Nathan was born on March 19th too, and like you, I noted the flowers blloming the day he was born. That is spring for me as well. My little girl was born in the dead dog heat of Summer, but you know, the day she was born wasn't super hot, it was quite pleasent as I recall.
    by jen at 03/07/10 2:59PM
  • carolattheriver
    March 19th is Mikes birthday too! Popular day!!!
    by carolattheriver at 03/07/10 10:33PM

Health and Nutrition

at 03/04/10 7:04AM
It scares me to read the ingreedient label on packaged foods.
I have been forced to read the things in order to maintain a gluten free diet (you would be surprised at what they put wheat and its derivatives in!).
The print is small, so I keep my monocle handy at all times (thanks, kids!) because it is almost as though the packagers are trying to hid their information in plain sight.
So my idea right now is to NOT eat ANYTHING that contains MSG, and to minimize my intake of HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP.
Anyone that has replaced sugar with that stuff should be branded on their forehead with ____(?)(I'd like to hear your ideas before breaking out the dart-gun and the forge).
Anyway, I'd like to have a beehive. My grandparents in Indiana had one, and I was always a little scared when I mowed the grass near it, but never did suffer any stings.
Anyone out there ever raise bees? Is it something you enjoyed? Is there much work to it? I don't need to start something else that takes daily attention. Feeding seven animals and the wild birds and deer is enough.
  • AlanL
    We've been wondering why Cheerios have wheat flour. Have they always?

    I love honey! Beekeeping might be enjoyable. I have no idea what's involved, though.
    by AlanL at 03/04/10 9:55AM
  • joc
    Hope you have a BEE-U-TIFUL day! Artie was a bee keeper when we were dating, but he got allergic. Here is a bee for you!
    Photobucket
    by joc at 03/04/10 11:23AM
  • the_gaffer
    I was stung several times in one day on my hand. Man! Talk about arthritis relief! My hand felt the best it has for MONTHS!
    by the_gaffer at 03/04/10 12:29PM
  • plato
    True, Rome wasn't built in a day, but some places are already more developed in regards to liberty such as Wyoming. Today they passed HB95, essentially nullifying federal authority over their guns. Likewise, there are far fewer people to oppress you and they already have more libertarian representatives than any other state. I'm seriously considering heading that way in a few years.
    by plato at 03/04/10 7:46PM
  • carolattheriver
    We read ingredients on everything, too. It's very disappointing to look at the ingredients only to find that half of the things in a package is not even pronounceable!
    by carolattheriver at 03/05/10 9:14AM
  • gmajo
    Reading the labels is quite a good exercise. Not only do I avoid MSG and High Fructose Corn Syrup, but also anything I can not pronounce! The best part--something that I learned in the last year or two, is that a suggested serving size is printed clearly, large enough to see. I like cooking from scratch and I avoid prepared foods of all kinds.

    Nationwide the apies melifera (european honeybee) is in decline. Many fungal, bacterial, and parasitic diseases have decimated formerly prosperous apiaries. I do not know what the condiition of the bee population is in TX. In Oregon it has become critical. Many fruit trees are not bearing because of the lack of pollination. Now THAT is scary!
    by gmajo at 03/05/10 8:07PM
  • gmajo
    Reading the labels is quite a good exercise. Not only do I avoid MSG and High Fructose Corn Syrup, but also anything I can not pronounce! The best part--something that I learned in the last year or two, is that a suggested serving size is printed clearly, large enough to see. I like cooking from scratch and I avoid prepared foods of all kinds.

    Nationwide the apies melifera (european honeybee) is in decline. Many fungal, bacterial, and parasitic diseases have decimated formerly prosperous apiaries. I do not know what the condiition of the bee population is in TX. In Oregon it has become critical. Many fruit trees are not bearing because of the lack of pollination. Now THAT is scary!
    by gmajo at 03/05/10 8:07PM
  • emmywoo
    Who was it that owned a bee farm when me, terra, and sharon were growing up? i remember being around tons of bees and never getting stung, as well as getting balls of beeswax (which is funny that it's one word... weird. ANYWAY). do you remember their names?
    by emmywoo at 03/05/10 8:36PM
  • the_gaffer
    The Pickards sold their apiery to another family. The lady had a man's name, but changed it to a lady's name eventually. (Jerry-Sharon??)
    by the_gaffer at 03/06/10 6:35AM
  • the_gaffer
    I know that the decline of honeybees are a concern, but don't know if it is a problem here, yet. There are some hives on the other side of the highway, and when the trees on the South side of the house are in bloom, the bees are on it in the tens of thousands!
    by the_gaffer at 03/06/10 6:38AM